Books and Board Games: The Tea Edition

Welcome to the first post in a brand new feature, which is all about taking your favourite books and finding a board game to match.

Today, I’m tackling the classic Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

It’s a book loved by generations, it’s been adapted into a TV series and a film, and it even has two board games (!), one of which has been inventively named Pride and Prejudice: The Game. This however, is not the game that I’ll be talking about today. (Although if you are interested, here you go). The other is Marrying Mr. Darcy, which is also not the game I’ve picked today. (Again, if you’re curious, here’s a link to the website).

No, the game I’ve chosen is Elevenses. It may not be specifically about Pride and Prejudice, and it might be set almost a hundred years later, but it’s adorable and fun and cute and is all about arranging a tea party. And can’t you imagine the Bennet’s attending a tea party? (I can tell you now, Mrs Bennet would win at this game every single time. No contest).

Elevenses is a card game where you compete to plan the best morning tea, and you partly do this by trying to ruin everybody else’s. That’s the basic idea of the game, and you do it by playing lots of pretty cards such as “tea” or “sandwiches” or “cups and saucers”. All of these cards also have special powers, for example, stealing from other players.

Basically, it’s just plain fun. It may not be the best game I’ve ever played, but I did have a blast playing it. (Plus it’s a great excuse to dress up in period clothing. Because why not?)